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AN INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO WIDE GAGE ON TANGENT RAILROAD TRACK

Wide gage--a fatigue failure of the track to maintain the nominal lateral distance between rail heads--is one of several modes of track failure on which the AAR-FRA-RPI-TDA Track Train Dynamics Program has focused attention. To investigate the generation of wide gage on tangent track, experiments were conducted to measure track dynamic response and long-term fatigue life of track sections on the Union Pacific Railroad in Idaho. Results of these experiments have defined the important factors in this mode of track fatigue.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was contributed by the Rail Transportation Division of the ASME for presentation at the Winter Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, November 30-December 5, 1975.